Incandescent bulbs are included standard on all our rentals, our LED bulbs with color are available upon request. In this post, we will do a deep dive into our bulb options for our marquee letters, and how you can use them to elevate any event! Consider this our expert guide to marquee letter bulb options!
Marquee Letter Rental Info Page
Why do bulbs matter in your light up letter rental?
Marquee letters and numbers are considered decor, they will be caught in photos, used a backdrop, and generally be the highlight of any event because they are huge! When you consider that these marquee signs are a light up letter rental, a new world of issues can present themselves, so thats why you need to trust the experts at IT’S LIT Weddings & Events. The fact that letters light up, means you have to carefully consider the way they will look in a variety of mediums including photo, video, brightness, power draw, and size. The bulb option obviously affects brightness, but did you know that it can also affect the photos and videos of the display? We offer 3 different bulb options presently: Incandescent bulbs, LED single color, and LED smart bulbs.
INCANDESCENT BULBS (STANDARD OPTION)
- perfect for single color applications, weddings, and rustic themes
- clear globe appearance
- *warm, but safe to touch
- visible filament
- 2700K Warm White (almost Amber) color
- fits with rustic themes
- single color only
- best for smaller/darker and indoor spaces
Incandescent bulbs are by far the simplest option, though they might not be right for everyone, if you aren’t sure what you want, this is what we suggest. Light up letter rentals wouldn’t be complete without the lights, and the most common light bulbs you will see on marquee letters are incandescent bulbs. Though, this does not negate nuances, as incandescent bulbs age, they can become darker or lighter, and incandescent bulbs are more fragile and burn out easier than their LED counterparts, due to the nature of their design.
LED COOL WHITE + COLOR SMART BULBS (BY REQUEST)
This section really needs two parts, because these bulbs are packed with features. We could write a whole blog about these bulbs alone. These bulbs have 3 key options; “pure” white, static colors, and color programs.
Pure White
- perfect for outdoor events
- more “modern” white look
- 5700K “Cool” White color
- VERY bright, best for daytime and outdoor events, can be set to 50% brightness, we still discourage white for dimmer indoor events.
Static Colors
- 11 colors: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Deep Orange, Amber, Purple, Teal, Turquoise, Magenta/Pink, Red Orange
- Colors on LEDs are fine for any event bright outdoor, or dim indoor
Color Programs
- color changing mode
- color fade mode
- adjustable speed
- IR control
- strobe
Here’s where the nuance enters, while our smart bulbs can do a wide range of great and fun things, they don’t do any one thing quite perfect. For example, the white is a nice color, but is often too bright for anything inside, while we can dim it down, on its lowest setting, it’s basically impossible to have all the bulbs brightness’s match. Additionally, some of the colors are “color mixed”, and depending on the color and or brightness, in photos it could look like the bulbs are off due to the way a camera interprets light (more on that later). Finally, in their color changing mode, it’s near impossible to get all the bulbs to change at the same rate, most people don’t care, but we want you to have all the facts!
Incandescent style LED bulbs (Single color)(BY REQUEST)
We now offer Incandescent style LED bulbs in color: Purple, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, White. These bulbs solve some of the issues that LED Smart bulbs have, but also lack some of the features. As a result, they work well for a single color (like yellow).
Light Up Letter Rentals: Mixing Bulb Options
You might be asking yourself, “could I do 2 different colors, or use different bulbs in a single setup?” The answer is YES! Check out some photo examples of this below!
Photo Settings with LED bulbs
*NOTE: Depending on the brightness and color; LED bulbs may appear to be “off” or “flicker”. If possible, notify photo/videographers of this in advance. Smartphone users should read this article for more info on how to fix this on iPhones: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-your-shot-iph3dc593597/ios
Power Draw for Light up Letters
Almost any light up letter setup requires just a single dedicated 15-20amp circuit of power for each location. Dedicated is the key word here. If you can’t provide a dedicated circuit, you may want to consider an LED bulb option which will reduce power usage by about 90%. If you have a large setup and need help with power distribution, our production team can help with this aspect.
Still not sure on bulb options? Watch a comparison video here: https://youtu.be/GDxrR4p9LHE
Ready to book? Contact us!
